


Transformers Z Prime

by Sleepy_Dimorphodon



Category: Dragon Ball, Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Crossover, We'll see I guess, ratings might change???, will add characters as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-10-12 02:10:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20556485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_Dimorphodon/pseuds/Sleepy_Dimorphodon
Summary: Just a little something for fun. Begins sometime before the hunt for the relics and I kind of do my own thing because I'm too tired/lazy to properly keep up with the original plot completely.A Decepticon by the name of Piccolo crash lands on the planet Earth. Stranded with seemingly minor injuries, he decides to put up with the company of an energetic young Gohan. At least until he can join Lord Megatron at his side.currently on hold for rewrites and such





	1. Chapter 1

The escape pod whizzed through the atmosphere of the small planet. Smoke billowed from its damaged engines, and its alarms were blaring far too loudly. The panicking pilot inside tried desperately to control the pod’s trajectory, only it seemed the best he might be able to manage was a controlled crash.

The Cybertronian braced himself as the pod skidded across the green terrain, tearing the plant life apart and leaving behind a trail of destruction. Sparks flew from the control panels as the pod was stopped by a large rock protruding from the earth. The metal being hissed as he was thrown into the controls, sending more sparks flying towards the handful of Energon cubes he had snatched in his rush.

“Frag,” he snarled and rushed to the door. It was jammed. Of course it was. He slammed his shoulder through the door and stumbled out. His audial fins perked at the sound of Energon beginning to ignite, and he immediately started to run.

The explosion was strong enough to send shrapnel flying into the back of his helm.

The Cybertronian fell over with a loud thud and didn’t get up.

…

Son Gohan rushed out of the front door as fast as his little legs could carry him. His gravid mother stood at the entrance as she watched the little boy scurry off towards the woods.

“Don’t wander too far away, Gohan!” She called after him. The eight year old just waved his hand in acknowledgment, “and be careful!”

The young boy ran down a narrow trail he had made over the few years he had been exploring the forest. He was excited, more so than usual when he was allowed to wander off.

Last night he had seen what at first appeared to have been a shooting star, was actually a crashing meteor. He wanted so badly to go find it the moment it landed in the forest, but he restrained himself. He didn’t want to risk waking his parents and getting in trouble. Besides, it would be there in the morning.

Gohan slowed down as he noticed some damaged and scorched trees. The marks seemed fresh, so the little boy was convinced that he was on the right track. He could hardly contain his excitement as he skipped through the underbrush.

Gohan suddenly stopped and his eyes widened. That was no meteor sitting at the end of the trail. It was some kind of ship! It was destroyed, but still! A ship! From space!

Cautiously, he walked closer to the wreckage. Gohan frowned when he noticed small blue embers burning around some of the metal, so didn’t get too close.

“An explosion,” he concluded. That was a bit disappointing. If there was anyone inside, then they had likely died.

Gohan yelped as he slipped into a shallow hole. Wait, it was too big to really call it that. Too big and too shallow. It looked kind of like a giant footprint. 

The little boy’s excitement returned full throttle. Perhaps the pilot of the ship did survive after all!

Gohan quickly began to follow the trail, though he didn’t have to travel very far to find the owner of the trail.

He froze in place as he stared wide eyed at the huge figure laying face down on the ground. It looked like a giant robot. Now cautious, Gohan tiptoed closer to the metal giant.

Whatever it was, it was pretty dark in coloration, with a deep purple covering most of the torso and legs, with the occasional green and silver highlight. Admittedly, the green wasn’t really that good a color for metal.

Gohan grabbed a long stick and prodded at the giant’s hand. Nothing. Was it dead? He tried a few more times, still with no reaction. 

“Hello?” Gohan clambered onto its back and poked at what looked like a wing. He yelped when it twitched. It wasn’t dead!

“Hey, wake up!” The young boy crawled past the wings and up to the head. He noticed a dent in the back of its head. Perhaps caused from the crash or the explosion of the ship.

“Hmf..” the giant grunted and its frown seemed to deepen. It didn’t look like a friendly robot, now that Gohan was staring at its face. He swallowed nervously. Perhaps he shouldn’t be this close to this thing.

Red eyes opened and slowly looked around. Gohan gasped and fell backwards, catching the giant’s attention.

“What..?” It lifted its head and looked at the small boy with narrowed eyes. It scowled and used a clawed finger to push him away, “get off of me!”

“Ow!” Gohan rolled in the dirt and quickly sat up, “Hey, that was mean!”

“Don’t care,” It grumbled as it, he, Gohan assumed, began to push himself up onto his knees and look around. After a moment it stood up and began to walk away.

“W-wait! Where are you going?” Gohan stumbled after the giant. He paused and looked down at the boy.

“Don’t follow me, and mind your own business.”

“But-”

“I will kill you if you say another word,” The giant hissed. Gohan immediately shut his mouth and he turned to continue walking. The boy continued to follow.

“Hello? Anyone there?” The giant placed his hand over one of his audial fins. He only received static on his comm.

“Lord Megatron? Can anyone hear me?”

“Who’s Lord Megatron?” Gohan flinched as the giant whipped around and he covered his mouth.

“You’re still here?” He frowned, “get lost.”

“But you’re lost. My name is Gohan, by the way. Son Gohan.”

“I don’t care who you are.”

“But you’re hurt!” Gohan placed his own hand on the back of his head, “you’ve got a big dent there!”

The metal giant placed his hand over his head and felt for the dent. He circled the injury with his talon, “it’s not serious.”

But now that he knew it was there, it would certainly annoy him.

“My dad is a mechanic. Maybe he can fix it,” Gohan offered. The giant sighed and his shoulders went slack. He could just transform and leave this brat behind. Surely he could find the other Decepticons by himself. Still, he couldn’t just show up with dents and scrapes, it would be humiliating, and Lord Megatron wouldn’t take him seriously. Maybe he could let this mechanic patch him up.

“Alright, fine.”

Gohan brightened with excitement and he bit back the urge to squeal in delight, “awesome! Follow me, I can take you back to my place! Oh, right! I forgot to ask for your name.”

“Piccolo,” he grumbled, “And could you be quiet? Your voice is annoying.”

“Sorry,” the boy covered his mouth.

A few minutes into their walk and Piccolo was already beginning to realize he was more damaged than he first realized. His right knee joint was creaking and stiff. Perhaps some junk got caught under his armor or something was knocked loose. His right side was also burning. Not a good sign, considering his transformation cog was located there.

The boy was also agonizingly slow. His puny legs were struggling to keep ahead of the Cybertronian, and it wouldn't be long before he tired completely.

“Wait,” Gohan panted and held his hand up. Piccolo stopped and stared down at the boy with a frown, “I need a break.”

Piccolo rolled his optics, “I'd rather get this over with. Come on.”

The small organic yelped as a huge hand picked him up, “just point me in the right direction.”

“Uh… right,” Gohan blinked as he adjusted to the dizzying height. He’s never been this far off of the ground before.

...

“Wait here. My mom will freak if she sees you,” Gohan stepped away from Piccolo’s servo, “I’ll get my dad.”

“Fine, but you better hurry,” The Decepticon grunted as he watched Gohan scurry away. He sat down with a huff.

“Gohan!” The boy paused at the sound of his mother’s voice, “where have you been young man? You’ve been out for hours!”

“Really? I… guess I lost track of time,” Gohan smiled nervously, “um… where’s dad?”

“He went into town. Now come on, you have studies to finish,” Chichi grabbed her son’s hand and dragged him inside.

“Oh no,” Gohan muttered to himself. Piccolo would not be happy.


	2. Chapter 2

“What  _ took  _ you so long!” Gohan flinched at the Cybertronian’s tone.

“Sorry, mom kept me inside and dad was out most of the day.”

“Right, where is he?” Piccolo looked around.

“He’s getting supplies. I didn’t exactly tell him about you, but I did tell him he’d need some of his tools,” Gohan fiddled with his fingers. The Decepticon sighed.

“I have places I need to be, so he’d better hurry.”

“I’m here Gohan!” A new voice caught their attention and soon a taller organic walked into the scene. He was carrying a metal box and had a pair of goggles hanging around his neck. The man paused when he spotted the giant robot and his eyes went wide.

“Uh… Gohan… What is that?”

“That's something you can ask me, not him,” the Cybertronian towered over the man and stared down at him with cold red optics, “Gohan has promised that you would help fix a few dings in my armor.”

“Uh…” he looked at Gohan blankly. The boy just smiled and shrugged.

“I did promise.”

The adult stumbled on his words as he turned back to Piccolo, “I, I don’t… that’s not a car…”

“By the allspark, are all organics as annoying as you two?” Piccolo snapped. The two flinched, Gohan looked more hurt while his… dad… was just startled from his stupor.

“Sorry,” the older human muttered as he set his box down and began to go through it. Piccolo crossed his arms impatiently.

“Right, so… what seems to be the problem?”

“A few dents and I believe something is lodged under my plating here,” the Decepticon tapped on his knee. The organic nodded and stood up, a smile on his face as he clambered onto the giant’s leg. Piccolo’s frown deepened as he watched the human, ignoring Gohan, who decided to sit somewhere next to him.

“By the way,” the mechanic glanced over his shoulder at the cybertronian, “I’m Goku.”

“Piccolo,” he muttered in return and closed his eyes. Piccolo tried to do a diagnostic scan of his burning cog, but everything popped up as normal. Perhaps his scanners had been scrambled when he hit his head, which was only one more problem on his list of setbacks.

“Whoops,” Goku squeaked as he accidentally caused a cord to shift when he tugged at some stones that were lodged in Piccolo’s knee, “Sorry, that didn’t look very pleasant.”

“On the contrary,” Piccolo sighed, not aware of the tension in his leg until it was relieved, “That feels better.”

The human seemed relieved, “Oh. That’s good, because I can now get these darn rocks out.”

The next few minutes were met with relative silence as Goku removed all of the debris from the Decepticon’s joint and moved to the next problem; the dent at the back of his head. Piccolo sat forward as the human climbed up to his shoulder to take a look.

“Wow. That’s a dent and a half,” he whistled. Piccolo’s frown only deepened.

“Just fix it.”

“Alright, alright,” Goku held his hands up and looked down at where Gohan was quietly seated, “Gohan, I’m gonna need your help on this one.”

The boy looked at his father and quickly stood up, “Ok!”

Piccolo closed his optics once more, but this time only to tune out the two humans as they worked. Hopefully, his self repair systems will fix everything else quickly.

“Alright, we’re done!” the Decepticon flinched and opened his eyes. The two humans stood in front of him, smiling and a bit dirty. That felt fast.

Piccolo stood up and rolled his shoulders, “Good.”

“You’re not gonna leave now, are you?” Gohan looked at him with large eyes.

“Not yet. I’ll rest tonight and tomorrow I will see what I can salvage from my ship.”

The kid seemed satisfied with that answer and both he and his father turned to head back to their home. There was the faint call of someone beckoning them to ‘dinner’, whatever that was.

Piccolo took a few moments to look over himself. He was still sore in some places, but other than that, he was fine. A good recharge would help as well.

He sat back down, shifting as he gently leaned back against a tree. It wasn’t a proper berth but it would do, and with that he folded his arms over his chest and shut his optics.


	3. Chapter 3

Piccolo woke early the next morning. The sun would not even begin to peek over the horizon for quite some time. He was always among the first to wake up in his previous team. It was part of his programing, it seemed.

Piccolo stood up and stretched his limbs, loosening his stiff joints and back struts. With a final shake to wake himself up, he stepped into a more cleared area with enough room to spread his wings.

The Decepticon’s tanks lurched as his transformation cog twisted with an audible shriek. Pain shot through Piccolo’s side so suddenly, he could barely squeak as he fell to his knees. He placed his trembling servos over his side as he tried to regain his composure and scan his cog. At least his scanners were back up.

“Damn,” he hissed in frustration. The damage was repairable, but it would take a while for his systems to finish its work. Great. This was a terrible time to have a damaged t-cog. A downed flier was a useless one, and Lord Megatron was not known for helping the useless.

Piccolo straightened his back. There was no point in whining about it, it wouldn’t help him any. Instead he headed back in the direction of his crashed ship. If he was lucky, at least a single cube of energon could be saved. If not, then… oh well.

The walk back to the wreckage was relatively pleasant. This planet, Piccolo observed, was quite lovely. He watched as little chirpy organics fluttered overhead and disappeared into the still dark sky.

The rising sun painted everything in a warm golden glow, and Piccolo’s wings perked, wanted to catch as much of the warmth as they could. He sighed pleasantly. Very rarely did he ever get to see nice planets. He could still count his favorites on just one servo.

His top favorite was the only mechanical planet he’s ever visited. It was a dead, deserted world. He was only brought there to learn about his heritage and the war. Cybertron, though dead, dark and desolate, still tugged at Piccolo’s spark. It was the planet he should have been born from.

He let out a heavy vent and lowered his wings. He sometimes wished he could have seen the planet when it was alive, but it had died long before he was created.

Piccolo pulled himself from his thoughts as he finally reached his crashed pod. There wasn’t much left, unfortunately. The Decepticon circled the wreckage, occasionally poking around at the scraps. He paused when he spotted some interesting tracks. They were large, most likely Cybertronian, and came in at least three different varieties.

Perhaps a large heavyweight, a smaller, faster bot, and a sizable warrior. Piccolo frowned and mentally cursed at himself. The trail was fresh, meaning he had just barely missed them.

“Perhaps I should’ve just squashed the brat,” He muttered. His eyes flashed as he scanned the area. Odd… there were traces of energy left by a bridge of sorts. These footprints would not belong to a flier, not that he looked closer. They were too dense, and heavy. Perhaps they were grounder drones, but even then, they would look about the same.

“Autobots…” he concluded with a snarl. He was slightly less upset about missing them. Slightly.

He sighed and crossed his arms. Now what to do? He was grounded, left without energon, and his comm was still down. He started weighing his available options.

He could go off on his own, look for energon and the other Decepticons, or he could conserve his energy and stick with the humans until his cog was operational. Really, it was a no brainer.

Piccolo turned and headed back to Gohan’s home. He could destroy the pesky organic when he was finished healing. A small smile crept onto his features as he pictured the horror on the small creature’s face as his home and family was torn to shreds by his talons. His servos twitched at the thought.

Unfortunately, he would have to put up with the little human for a good while before that time finally arrives.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days had passed since Piccolo’s arrival. They had been fast, as well as dull. Goku would check on the repairs he had made, and comment his fascination and privilege to have a giant robot alien as his patient. Piccolo was always grateful his visits were short lived. Gohan, on the other hand, visited often. He usually brought a book or paper, either to read and talk about his book, or to doodle and show his art. He was what kept the Decepticon from just sleeping off these few boring days. At least he didn’t ask too many questions. At least not yet.

Gohan was again set free from his studies and he raced to greet Piccolo. The giant alien glanced down at the small boy, not as excited to see him as Gohan was.

“Sleep well?” Gohan smiled. Piccolo blinked he still wasn’t used to being asked such questions.

“Well enough,” he responded after a moment. He watched the kid take a seat next to him and look up at him expectantly.

“So why did you come here? To Earth, I mean?”

Piccolo tapped his talon and sighed. He knew he’d eventually begin to ask, “why do you wish to know?”

“Curious, is all.”

The Decepticon let out a snort. It wasn’t really any of the kid’s business, and it would be unwise to explain everything to him. After all, what idiot would trust a  _ decept _ icon? It was right in the name, “it’s not important for you to know.”

“Oh come on, pleeeease?” Gohan scooted closer to the flier with a pout. Piccolo didn’t like that look.

“Don’t give me that look,” Piccolo crossed his arms. Fine, he’d tell the bare essentials if it would shut him up.

“I came here to assist my leader in our war. The leader of our enemy is also here, so I must help my lord in defeating him.”

“Lord?” Gohan’s eyes widened in amazement, “you’ve mentioned him before. What’s he like? Is he strong?”

“Incredibly so,” Piccolo smirked. He had only seen Lord Megatron in action through video clips in the earlier years of the war. He had always admired how gracefully he plowed through his enemies, almost effortlessly. The Prime, in those early videos, seemed more clumsy, less experienced, but almost as deadly as his lord. By now Optimus was certainly a more skilled fighter.

“Are you strong?”

That question caught Piccolo a little off guard as his optics snapped back at Gohan. Strong? Well, he certainly wasn’t the strongest, and he wasn’t really that experienced either. He had never truly been in a life threatening situation. Well, until recently.

“I’m strong enough,” he settled. It seemed to satisfy the little human.

“That’s cool. What are you, anyway?”

“A cybertronian.”

Gohan looked Piccolo up and down, “so your race is really mechanical?”

He nodded, “indeed. Some have also nicknamed us as transformers, since we have the ability to change shape.”

“Really??” Piccolo flinched as Gohan jumped onto his feet, “show me!”

“No. I cannot show you at the moment.”

The human’s shoulders sagged in disappointment, “oh… ok.”

“Perhaps another time.”

Gohan merely nodded and sat back down. It was quiet for the next few minutes. Piccolo offlined his optics as he enjoyed the silence. He rather liked the natural sounds of the forest and the wind. His sharp hearing could also hear a distant waterfall. He’d have to check it out later.

But it seemed that Gohan could not appreciate the quiet as much, for soon he again spoke up.

“What’s your home planet like?”

“My… planet?” Piccolo opened his eyes and frowned, “I cannot say much of Cybertron. It is a dead world. Has been for millions of years now, before I was born. That’s why we’re here, not there.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be, child. None of us can do anything but continue to fight.”

Gohan looked down for a moment, “why continue to fight? Instead of fighting you should try to fix your home, or find a new one.”

Piccolo paused. He had never considered what would happen when the war ended. He was created for the sole purpose to serve his master on the battlefield. He had no other objective, no talents, nothing. He shook his head. There was a reason they still fought.

“I’m afraid it’s not so simple to just stop. This war has been waging for too long.”

The small boy frowned. It seemed that this war had been going on for so long, that they didn’t know any other way of life. That was a sad thought, “Well, I hope you guys win.”

“Me too, kid.”

Again the two fell into silence until Gohan was called back to his home for lunch. Piccolo watched the young boy scurry off out of the corner of his optics. He wasn’t so bad, for an organic.

Piccolo soon stood up and stretched his limbs. Might as well check out that fall. It wasn’t too far away, and a walk would do him some good. 

Within a few minutes he had reached a conveniently large clearing. The waterfall he came for fell from a tall cliffside and into a deep pool. If he stood in the center, then the water would reach his waist.

The Decepticon walked over to the fall and stretched his servo out. The water felt cool and refreshing over his arm. Sealing his plating so no water would reach his vitals, he stepped under the waterfall and sat down. He rarely had time to relax like this back with his previous team.

Piccolo flicked his wings in satisfaction as he let the water wash away all the grime and dust he had been collecting. Being clean always felt good. He closed his optics and smiled as he tilted his head up into the pouring water.

For the first time in his short life, he let his guard down completely.

“There you are!”

Piccolo let out a startled screech and fell back into the pool, his limbs flailing as his battle protocols went online. He sat up and aimed his cannons at a very surprised Son Goku. Piccolo snarled.

“How did you know I was here???”

“Well, you’re not exactly hard to track,” Goku motioned back at a trail of bent trees, broken branches and crushed bushes, “I just wanted to check up on ya.”

Piccolo lowered his arms, “I’m fine.”

“I can tell,” Goku smiled and placed his hands on his hips, “didn’t know you could do that.”

“There are many things you don’t know.”

“Rude,” the human didn’t seem that offended as he looked around, “you know, it’s kind of funny how you came to this place, of all places.”

“How so?” the Cybertronian watched as Goku sat next to the pool.

“When Gohan was real little, I used to take him out here to play in the water. This place floods every year, and fish come here to spawn. We used to love catching them.”

“You no longer do such activities?” Goku sighed and shook his head sadly.

“No. Work started taking up more and more of my time and Gohan needed to start taking his lessons more seriously. We no longer have the time to come here and play.”

Piccolo hummed and Goku stood up. He walked towards a particularly large and old looking tree.

“Ooh, this used to be one of our favorite hangouts!” he crouched down at a nice human sized gap in between the roots, “I think it’s gotten bigger under here! Hang on… what’s this?”

Curious, Piccolo climbed out of the pool and crouched next to the tree, “what is what?” 

“I think there’s something buried here!” Goku stuck his head out from under the tree, “It looks pretty big.”

“Let me see,” Piccolo lowered his head and peered through the roots. There was something white peeking out from the dirt.

“How about we dig it up and see what it is?” the human looked excited. Piccolo just nodded and slowly wedged two digits past the roots and clawed away at the dirt. Within a few minutes he had unearthed what appeared to be an ancient jar. And it was of Cybertronian origins no less.

“What is this?” Goku lightly kicked at the jar.

“I don’t know. I think it’s important though,” Piccolo’s audial fins perked as he heard the all too familiar sound of a bridge opening behind him. He was immediately on his pedes, weapons raised, “stay hidden, Goku!”

Piccolo glared at the swirling vortex as four figures stepped out. His optics narrowed as he spotted the red symbols. 

_ Autobots.  _


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at fight scenes, I'm sorry.

Piccolo’s armor and wings flared threateningly at the uninvited visitors. He didn’t know who the green, yellow and blue bots were, but he certainly recognized the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime.

His spark briefly clenched in fright. He had never seen the prime in person, and now that he was standing right there...

He was more imposing than he thought he’d be.

“Stand down,” Piccolo almost flinched at the stern tone, “it would be hopeless to fight in these odds.”

“I will do no such thing,” the Decepticon bristled, his weapons whirring to life, “I will die before I ever surrender to you Autobots!” 

“Let me take care of this punk, Optimus,” the hulking green one stepped forward and punched his fists together. The prime looked at his colleague and gave him the all clear with a nod.

“Be careful, Bulkhead. We do not know what this Decepticon is capable of.”

The tank of an Autobot briefly acknowledged his leader as he approached Piccolo, his servos transforming into wrecking balls.

Piccolo sneered as he held his talons up, “you remind me of someone I know.”

“Oh?” Bulkhead lunged at the Decepticon, swinging one of his arms down. Piccolo quickly sidestepped him and slashed at his shoulder.

“Yes. He’s big, green, and ugly. Just as you are,” Piccolo dug his claws into the Autobot’s armor, causing him to grunt in pain. He ripped his servo back and watched with a grin as energon spurted from the wound. 

The Autobot hissed and swung his arm up, smacking Piccolo’s chin and sending him crashing into the pool. He spluttered as he sat up and shook the cold water from his face. As soon as he looked up, Bulkhead was already leaping at him, his wrecking balls raised over his head. The flier splashed back into the water as he kicked his legs up, kicking the bot square in the abdomen and sending him flying back.

Piccolo quickly leapt from the pool and glanced at the other Autobots as the worried beeps of the yellow one caught his attention. Wait, where was the blue femme? 

After a quick look around he spotted her running towards the tree Goku and the artifact where sheltered under. Piccolo raised his cannons at her, but was knocked down as soon as he had fired, just barely missing his target. At least it sent her flying a short distance away from the tree.

Piccolo looked up at the recovered Bulkhead and bared his fanged dentae at him, “get off!”

He swiped his talons over his face and again kicked him. Bulkhead cried out as he stumbled back, his servos over his face. He shot a weak blast after him. It would put the green Autobot out of commission for a few minutes. Hopefully that was all the time he’d need.

The Decepticon went after the recovered femme. She leapt back to avoid his outstretched servos and fired at his face. Piccolo snarled as a blast hit a little too close to one of his optics. His t-cog hissed at him as he transformed his arms into his more powerful spiral cannons. The double barrels glowed with red hot energy and he took his shot.

A blast of spiraling white light erupted from his cannons and a blue streak of energy flew right at the blue femme, exploding as they made contact.

“Arcee!” Optimus roared as he charged into the fight, weapons raised and aimed at the Decepticon. Piccolo cried out as the prime’s blade dug into his chest.

“PICCOLO!”

Both he and Optimus froze and glanced back. At the end of the trail Piccolo had made stood Gohan, his eyes wide in fear. Goku stuck his head out from the tree to call after his son, catching the prime’s attention.

Piccolo saw his moment, pressed his cannon against Optimus’ abdomen, and fired.

The Autobot leader was sent flying into the cliffside and he slumped against the rubble, gasping in pain and shock. The Decepticon smirked. The yellow autobot was the only one left standing, though Bulkhead was stirring.

“Hmm?” they both looked up at the sound of approaching aircraft. A group of fliers flew overhead and transformed as they landed at the top of the cliff. Piccolo’s optics widened in awe as he spotted Lord Megatron himself in the lead.

“My, my…” the silvery mech looked at the scene below him with an amused smile, “someone’s been busy.”

His piercing red optics landed on Piccolo, “and I suppose this is all your doing?”

Piccolo’s joints stiffened with nervousness as he nodded, “Indeed, my Lord.”

The silver mech hummed as he took another gander at the scene. He paused when he spotted Optimus down below him, “and the prime?”

“I took advantage of a distraction. I otherwise would not have been able to defeat him.”

Megatron almost seemed impressed. Almost. He leapt from the cliff and landed in front of Piccolo, who immediately got down on one knee. He paid no mind to the yellow Autobot as he stepped away and cautiously side-stepped towards Optimus.

“Stand up. We can exchange formalities at the Nemisis,” the Decepticon leader was aware that the rest of the Autobots were now standing, ready to fight. Piccolo jumped onto his pedes as a very unhappy blue femme leapt at him, her blades grazing the plating over his spark chamber.

“Get the artifact, Arcee!” Bulkhead shouted at the femme. She briefly glanced at her green companion and bolted back to the tree. Piccolo immediately went after her.

He could hear the other bots fighting with Megatron and his drones. His energon boiled in excitement as he aimed his cannons at Arcee. His first actual, life threatening battle, and he went up against the Prime!

The purple and green con slammed into the blue Autobot as she tried to reach blindly for the artifact under the tree, sending her flying. Biting back the urge to smirk at his accomplishment, Piccolo quickly ducked down, tearing away at the tree’s roots. He didn’t even pay any attention to Gohan and his father as they huddled against the relic.

“Gah!” he hissed as a shot hit his shoulder and glanced up to see that Arcee was back on her pedes. She was persistent. But Piccolo, as young as he was, was clever.

He grabbed the two humans in one servo and held them up. He allowed a grin to show on his features as the blue femme immediately stopped.

“Put them down,” she slightly lowered her arms.

“Make me,” Piccolo responded coyly as he cocked his head to the side. Arcee just growled in frustration.

“Move, and I will crush them,” Piccolo slowly used his free servo to grab the jar and pull it from the earth. He stepped away, humans and artifact held firmly in his servos.

“P-Piccolo,” Gohan looked at the Decepticon with large, frightened eyes, “you wouldn’t really hurt us, would you?”

“No,” the boy seemed relieved, “I still need to use you as a meat shield.”

The look of relief was replaced with fear and hurt, his father glared and cursed at him. Piccolo just flashed them a smirk as he turned to the battlefield, holding the humans up as he shouted.

“AUTOBOTS! I recommend you put your weapons down!” pride swelled in his spark as the fight immediately stopped and all attention was brought to him, “if you do not comply, the humans shall perish!”

As if to prove his claim, his grip on the two organics tightened enough to make them squirm and cry out in discomfort.

Optimus Prime twitched and he slowly lowered his blade from Megatron’s face. His voice sounded strained, “Autobots, stand down.”

Reluctantly, the others obeyed. Megatron sneered as he walked over to the young con.

“Well done,” Piccolo held his head up proudly as he handed over the relic. Megatron glanced back at the Autobots and his soldiers, “we have what we came for.”

The drones all leapt into the air, transformed, and flew off with Megatron in the lead.

“Traitor…” Piccolo glanced down at Gohan. The little child’s eyes were puffy and leaking and he was making strange little noises. 

“I was never on your side in the first place,” Piccolo sneered and his frame suddenly folded around the humans. His cog audibly groaned and he bit back the urge to cry out in pain as he took off after his fellow Decepticons.


	6. Chapter 6

“I… suppose I understand your reasons for keeping the fleshlings,” Lord Megatron eyed the two humans disdainfully, “very well. We shall keep them alive, but they will be your responsibility, Piccolo Junior.”

Piccolo’s wings twitched in slight irritation as he bowed his head, “of course, my Lord. And please, just call me Piccolo.” 

“Now put them away and have Knockout take a look at you.”

Piccolo again bowed and turned to leave. A vehicon escort at the entrance of the command center stepped back and lead the young Decepticon to his new quarters. It was a plain room, with just the bare essentials. Admittedly, Piccolo was a bit disappointed. He was used to having a more luxurious room with more space.

“Welcome aboard the Nemesis,” the drone sighed through his vents as he waved his arm over the room, “as a flier, you’ll be joining the Seekers. Starscream will tell you all about it soon”

“Who?”

“You’ll meet him soon enough. Don’t get too excited though,” the vehicon stepped out, “the guy’s a jerk, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

The door shut behind the vehicon and Piccolo looked back at his new quarters. Perhaps he could spruce it up a bit at a later date, but for now, he just walked over to the berth at the far end of the room and placed the organics there.

“Get comfortable. You two will be staying here for a while.”

“Fuck off,” Goku snarled at the cybertronian, holding a still whimpering Gohan close to his chest. Piccolo just rolled his optics and turned away. He wasn’t worried about them running off.

He stepped out of his room and paused. Who was Knockout, and where would he find him?

“Just my luck,” he hissed and started walking in a random direction. He should’ve asked the drone to lead him there. Then again, he should’ve shown him the way in the first place. Or at least give him a map of the place.

He wandered through the quiet halls for a few minutes, growing more tired as time passed. He remembered that he was very low on fuel now, having used up nearly all of it in his fight against the Autobots. He briefly shuttered his optics, allowing his other senses to lead him wherever. If anyone had passed by, he’d look like he was sleepwalking. 

“Whoa!” Piccolo stumbled and fell forward when one of his feet caught onto the back of the other. A pair of arms caught him before he could hit the ground.

“Hey, careful, buddy!” Piccolo looked back to meet an orange face with a friendly grin. He regained his composure and turned to meet him

“Hello. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem, kid. Name’s Breakdown, by the way.”

“Piccolo.”

“Piccolo, huh?” Breakdown looked over the young con with his remaining yellow eye, “you’re the kid who took on the Autobots a few hours ago, right?”

Piccolo nodded, “I got lucky. They will not be so careless next time.”

“Yeah, but it’s still impressive.”

Again, he nodded. It was impressive, especially since he was so young and inexperienced. He had fought and killed Autobots in the past, but they held no real threat against him, especially since he was fighting alongside his older brothers. But this time they weren’t there to back him up, and not  only had he taken on the Prime, he had  _ survived _ the encounter. His brothers would be so jealous. He could almost hear Tambourine’s screeching.

“By the way,” Piccolo looked down at Breakdown, “I’m looking for Knockout, do you know where he is?”

“Knockout? Of course I do, I’m his assistant!” Breakdown grinned, “well, more than that, buuut…”

Piccolo didn’t seem to catch on and the older Decepticon took him to the medical bay.

“Hey, Knocky!” Breakdown’s sudden entrance startled a very small red Decepticon, causing him to drop his data pad. He shot the blue and grey con an annoyed glare.

“Don’t do that!” he bristled. Breakdown rubbed his helm sheepishly.

“Er, sorry. I got the new kid here,” he gestured to Piccolo, “he needs some repairs and energon.”

Knockout let out a sigh and gestured towards the medical berth,”fine, just lie there and I’ll get to you.”

Piccolo nodded and did as he was instructed. The small medic was soon at his side and scanning over his frame. He whistled at the results.

“That t-cog looks pretty bad. I’ll bet transforming was incredibly painful.”

Piccolo nodded. It was almost excruciating. 

“And that cut on your chassis is pretty deep too. Luckily it wasn’t too close to your spark chamber or fuel lines. Being as low on energon as you are, that would’ve been fatal. Some of your injuries are a little older too.”

“I crashed landed here a while ago,” Piccolo briefly explained.

“Ah, that explains it,” Knockout looked at the results again, “I’m going to have to do surgery. Breakdown, you know what to do.”

Breakdown stood at the other side of the berth and pulled out some cables attached to a machine he couldn’t see in his current position, “this won’t hurt a bit.”

He nodded and the big grounder hooked him up. After a few moments, he began to drift off. He blinked a few times, feeling his body grow slack and heavy, and let himself fall into recharge.

A full solar cycle had passed by the time Piccolo woke up. He was feeling much better after being refueled and patched up.

Knockout sent the young con away after handing him a map of the ship. The last thing anyone needed was a lost Decepticon. 

Piccolo made his way back to his quarters without any problems. But a tall, lanky, red figure stood near the doors. The young Decepticon paused and eyed the unpleasant stranger. Was this the Starscream that drone mentioned?

The Seeker turned his attention to the newcomer and held his head up, “You there, Piccolo, is it?”

“Yes. You must be Starscream.”

“It is  _ Commander _ Starscream to you!” the red jet’s wings flared out angrily. Piccolo’s frown deepened, already deciding he hated this mech, “you will show proper respect to your superiors!”

The younger flier scoffed, “very well,  _ Commander _ Starscream. I’d like to get to my quarters now.”

Piccolo’s breath hitched as long talons wrapped around his throat and he was forced to take a step back. Starscream lowered his face closer to his, a vicious snarl on his features.

“I would advise you watch your tone,  _ Junior _ ,” Piccolo growled, starting to feel anxious, “I know more about you than you realize. Your father has made quite a name for himself after all…”

The red con sneered and his grip tightened, “and you shouldn’t be here. What would happen if dear old dad found you here with his rival, Lord Megatron?”

“Mind your own business, Screams,” Piccolo’s armor bristled. Starscream scowled at him and released his neck.

“Very well, but do yourself a favor and keep in line. You may have gotten the drop on Prime, but you’re not anything special.”

With that, Starscream turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Piccolo feeling unnerved.

He entered his room and froze. Oh, he had nearly forgotten about the two humans on his berth. Goku stood up, the skin under his eyes were dark, but he still had hatred written all over his face. Gohan huddled behind his father’s legs. The cybertronian let out a vent and pinched the bridge of his nose. They probably needed food or something. He could try to get one of the drones to go grab something later. 

He walked up to the berth and crossed his arms, “glad to see you didn’t try to escape.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Goku bristled, “we’re miles in the sky in a giant alien ship, where could we possibly go?”

That was true. Really, saying anything to the organics was a waste of time. But he currently had the time to spend, as he had no mission, no work, and he was fully rested and fueled. Piccolo let out a vent and turned his attention from the humans. The only other thing in the room was a small desk and chair. Not even a datapad...

“I seriously need to do some decorating,” he muttered to himself. He needed to start planning things out, try climbing the ranks, keep away from his father’s reach, keep in Lord megatron’s favor. Bonus if he takes Starscream’s position. A short list, but one that would certainly keep him busy.

For now, Piccolo left his room. He had left the humans for an entire day, and if he knew anything about most sentient organics, they needed to feed regularly. 

“You there,” a wandering drone paused and looked at the new seeker.

“Yes?”

“Do you know what humans need to eat?”

The vehicon shook its head, “no, but I can find out.”

“Do that,” Piccolo demanded, “then get some for me.”

“Why? I don’t think you can give me orders.”

“Just go,” the flier clacked his talons threateningly. The vehicon shifted uncomfortably.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

Piccolo grinned, “good.”

He watched as the drone trotted off, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t like Lord Megatron’s drones. Unlike his father’s, they asked too much and didn’t recognize a superior like himself. They’d learn though. Eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a pain to write and it sucks


End file.
